Reyes Should Make Mets Fans Reevaluate Their Fandom

When you go team-by-team across Major League Baseball, players who were supposedly signed to be the proverbial 25th man do not serve as a constant distraction. In the occasions that player becomes a distraction, they are cut. However, most teams are not the New York Mets, and most players are not Jose Reyes.

It was just two days ago, Mickey Callaway finally had to answer the question about how much ownership’s interference has led to Callaway playing Reyes as frequently as he has. Naturally, no one believed Callaway when he said there wasn’t any interference. Of course, no one believes that because Reyes’ play was precipitated by his going public with his complaints.

When speaking to Matt Ehalt of nj.com, Reyes had the audacity to say, “”I believe in what I can do. But it’s hard for me if there isn’t opportunity out there.”

Note, Reyes was signed to be a utility infielder, one who refused to get reps in the outfield during Spring Training which could have opened the door for more at-bats during the season.

And just so Reyes is aware, the last guy on the bench plays very sparingly, especially on good teams. In 1999, Luis Lopez played 68 games, and in 2000, he would play in 78. His former teammate, Julio Franco, started just 25 games for the 2006 Mets.

The difference between Reyes and those and many other players have been they learned how to handle the role, and they did it gracefully. More than that, they were productive.

Once again, Reyes has been just about one of the worst players in baseball. Really, you have to spend a significant amount of time to find what he does well.

Reyes has a -0.8 WAR, 52 wRC+, and a -4 DRS in the field. Over the last two years, Reyes has hit .231/.301/.380 with an 83 wRC+, and -1.2 WAR. The Mets are actually paying $2 million for this.

By contrast, the Mets opted to nontender Eric Campbell a contract. With respect to Campbell, he was a .221/.312/.311 hitter in three years with the Mets with an 80 wRC+ and -0.5 WAR. Defensively, he was a 0 DRS, and he was willing to play every position in the field.

Bascially, Reyes has been no better than Campbell, a guy who struggled in Japan last year and is playing in Triple-A this season. By contrast, Reyes is not only takingHea up a spot on a Major League roster, he is demanding and receiving playing time.

One of the reasons why is his ties to ownership. Yes, Ehalt’s article noted Reyes didn’t speak with Jeff Wilpon or Sandy Alderson. Of course, that made the failure to mention Fred Wilpon all the more glaring. It is something Howard Megdal addressed in his Deadspin article about how often the Wilpons are around:

Oh yeah, this year, all the time,” Reyes said, when asked how often owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon are in the clubhouse and around the team. “They come here a lot. Jeff was here yesterday. Fred is here all the time.

That’s no small thing especially in light of how Reyes has seen increasing playing time he has not merited. It isn’t just fans who feel that way, it’s people within the Mets organization. As Megdal reported, “Pro scouting advised his removal from the roster a long time ago.”

Ultimately, that leaves us with the question, why is Reyes here?

In 2016, we knew the answer was because the Wilpons didn’t care enough about how severely Reyes beat his wife. David Wright was done for the year, and his replacements weren’t cutting it. The team wanted to win, so they sold their soul to host the Wild Card Game.

In 2017, the selling point was Reyes performed admirably done the stretch, and the team needed insurance for Wright’s back.

In 2017, Reyes was absolutely terrible, and the team insisting on trying to get him going was one of the more prominent reasons why that season fell apart. Really, Reyes did not hit well until September where he went on a tear. Of course, that was too little way too late.

Despite Reyes being terrible, he was back this season. With the Mets signing Todd Frazier, he was going to be a bench piece. With his September, he was supposed to be much better this year. More than anything, he was purportedly brought back to mentor Amed Rosario.

On the Rosario front, he has been much worse this year than he was last year. In 2017, he was a -0.2 WAR player with a 74 wRC+ and a -1 DRS. This season, Rosario is a -1.0 WAR with a 68 wRC+ and a -16 DRS. Seeing his play this year, the Mets are now contemplating him being a center fielder.

Seeing Rosario’s play, it leads you to ask the question, “How exactly is Reyes mentoring Rosario?”

On that front, Kevin Kernan of the New York Post said, “He’s not mentoring as much as you think.”

If we sum this all up, with Jose Reyes, the Mets have a player, who:

Can’t hit

Can’t field

Gripes publicly

Is not mentoring younger players

Is not worthy of a spot on an MLB roster

That’s what we definitively know. Based upon reports, we can also surmise he’s undermining a manager by using his influence with ownership.

That last point is important because Reyes has now gone public in saying he wants to come back. For some reason his draw to ownership is such that coming off a horrid 2017 season, the team not only brought him back, but they gave him $2 million when most teams wouldn’t even give him a minor league contract.

In all seriousness, if Reyes is back with the Mets in 2019, even on a minor league deal, it is time for everyone to reevaluate their support for this Mets franchise.

Reyes beating his wife wasn’t enough to keep him away. Reyes being a bad player wasn’t enough to keep him away. Reyes not mentoring the player he was supposed to be mentoring while playing terribly has not been enough to keep him away.

Really, the only thing that ever separated the Mets and Reyes was money because back in 2010, when it came time to pay him, the Wilpons didn’t so much as speak with Reyes.

However, now that he’s a bad, cheap, and wife beating baseball player, this organization cannot have enough of him. Really, it is past the breaking point of how ridiculous this all is. If he is back, how can anyone logically support this franchise?

Unfortunately, fandom isn’t logical, and for that reason, I know I will still be a Mets fans in 2019. That said, my enthusiasm for the team will take another significant hit much like it took a significant hit in 2016. At some point, there is going to be one hit too many, and at that point, who knows?

Really, Reyes is exactly how you lose a passionate fan base. You turn people off because you tell people you have no issue with domestic violence. You turn people off because you build a team on the cheap instead of properly investing in a winning core and have a payroll commensurate with your market size. You turn people off because despite this player dragging your franchise down, you feel some devotion to him you didn’t have back when he was a good player.

So yes, I’ll still be there in 2019 even if Reyes is. I just won’t be as invested. To that end, I really hope Reyes is worth turning away passionate fans for over 30 years for this player. Something tells me it isn’t, and worse yet, the Wilpons don’t really care.

8 thoughts on “Reyes Should Make Mets Fans Reevaluate Their Fandom”

I also feel Retes is done and shouldn’t be on the Mets. But on this subject you seem to always go way over the top and ignored numbers I supplied several times (and then give a three word answer)

Reyes didn’t merely get “hot in September” in 2017, for the second half he slashed .288/356/.472/.828 and had a higher BA in July than he did in September. Yes, the team dumped guys mid-season, but only Cabrera had more hits for the Mets in 2017, and he led in stolen bases with 24….the next guy had 7.

For that, one of the greatest Mets in history didn’t earn a one year shot with a paltry $2 mil? Give me a break.

Is he showing and signs of coming back now? (shrug) He is slashing .270/.325/.486/.811 in his last 15 games.

And who is he blocking? Smith, Guillorme and Nido are hurt.You consistently seem to not understand that throwing a prospect up to the MLB before he is ready can be disastrous. Did you ever play ball? I was put into varsity as a freshman and forget it, I was done.

Wife-beater? His wife forgave his and had no injuries and charges were dropped? You seem silent on Familia’s similar case, where his wife was injured and knives were allegedly involved.

I also feel he should be let go at this stage, or maybe whenever we gave up….but you keep just making shtt up.

1. From the All Star Break to August 31, Reyes hit .277/.339/.420. That’s not good. It was his hot September which inflated those second half stats.

2. Reyes is a wife beater who can’t hit, field, won’t play the OF, isn’t mentoring Rosario, and complains about his playing time. In what world would that person deserve to get $2 million when no other MLB team would even contemplate giving him more than a minor league contract?

3. No, Reyes isn’t showing signs now. He’s a bad player.

4. He was blocking McNeil. He’s blocking Guillorme who is actually on the roster and not playing.

5. Your comments on the “forgiveness” and dropping of charges speaks to a naivety about domestic violence.

6. Personally, I’m not at liberty to discuss the Familia case, so I will advise you to re-read the public information on the case because you’re mischaracterizing that case.

7. I’ve made nothing up, and if you’re going to make such an assertion you better have proof. I promise you there is none.

1. which are all above average for the Mets
2. is a “wife beater.” By what standard? You can’t talk about Familia but you can repeatly brand him? Explain how he is worse than Familia, whose wife was injured.
3. Made up,. you gave one quote somewhere saying refused to play the OF. He is not in a position to do that. I see many quotes like: ” I’m ready for the challenge and whatever they need me to do to help this ballclub I’m going to be open to doing it.”
4. Made up. Rosario campaigned for him to come back, they are both Dominicans. Newsday two weeks ago.

“Both are from the Dominican Republic. Then there’s the speed, the arm strength and the athleticism, not to mention the vivid energy that’s evident regardless of the score. Rosario said that’s one of the traits he has learned from Reyes, who still dons his signature smile while talking about his struggles. “One of the similarities that we have is the energy that we bring to the game every day,” Rosario said through a translator. “He’s very energetic, and I’m learning from that. There have been more downs than ups for Rosario during his brief time in the big leagues, although he’s hitting .276 with three doubles and three triples in July. Callaway views Reyes as a key piece in Rosario’s development. “When they go out there and play third and second and short, they have matching sleeves on,” Callaway said. “They’re obviously very close, and they do a lot of things together. I’m sure they hang out on the road together and eat lunch and things like that. I think it’s a really good, strong relationship that benefits [Rosario] very much.”

5. “he’s a bad player” You keep giving that opinion like it isn’t anything but your opinion. He has many franchise Mets records, is a former batting champion, and was probably our best offensive weapon at the end of last year “He’s a bad player.” Please. Made up.

6. He’s not blocking McNeil. Guillorme is not going to be a major league player. He has no power and no speed and he is behind Rosario at his best position and doesn’t have the offense to be at 3rd or second.. He is batting .209 in the majors with a negative.WAR. After five years, even in our gutted farm the best you can find is him listed as number ten prospect. He has a plus glove — so does the entire Dominican Republic. He only has 183 at bats in AAA. He’s wildly overmatched at the MLB level and it risk destroying him ala Dom Smith. He has averaged an at bat a game he has been up, and that is one too many.

2. I’m using the standard Reyes beat his wife to the point she needed to be taken to the hospital.

3. If I’m so wrong and I made it up, answer me one question – how many games has Reyes played in the OF during the totality of 2018?

4. Kernan reported there’s not much mentoring or at least not as much as you’d believe. Let’s say Kernan is wrong, and Reyes is actually mentoring him. Rosario is worse, so whatever Reyes is doing isn’t working.

5. If you have a negative WAR, negative DRS, and wRC+ under 100, you’re objectively bad.

6. McNeil was kept in Triple-A while Reyes was playing third. Also, you’re wrong on Guillorme.

Guillorme’s best position is second. His presence on a MLB roster suggests he’s already a MLB player. Also, your assessment of Guillorme doesn’t match what scouts say.

“””3. If I’m so wrong and I made it up, answer me one question – how many games has Reyes played in the OF during the totality of 2018?”””

That has nothing to do with what you made up, which is that he REFUSED to. I provided quotes.

4 “Kernan reported there’s not much mentoring or at least not as much as you’d believe. Let’s say Kernan is wrong, and Reyes is actually mentoring him….”

That has nothing to do with what you made up, which is that he IS’NT mentoring. I provided quotes from Rosario and Callaway from two weeks ago.

“””5. McNeil was kept in Triple-A while Reyes was playing third.”””

While Frazier was hurt, and was perennially coming back soon…..and Frazier is back. They are grooming McNeil for second, apparently, since we have Frazier signed for next year. McNeil only has 17 starts at 3b in the past two years in the minors. Cabrera was being showcased at second. Wilmer needed starts.

McNeil was playing daily in Las Vegas. He only has 2 starts at third in 2018.

So…your plan was to fly him here, with Frazier returning imminently, stick him at 3rd, where he hasn’t played regularly, and fly him back to Vegas?

“””Also, you’re wrong on Guillorme.”””

He is one dimensional, out of five dimensions, with NO ONE saying he has upside to grow above average offensively. He has four (4) home runs in 2200 professional at bats, and he gets thrown out stealing more than 50% of the time.

“””Guillorme’s best position is second. His presence on a MLB roster suggests he’s already a MLB player.”””

lol…..on the Mets? Well, he is playing like an AA player. He shouldn’t be here, he should be getting daily at bats somewhere, since he has less than 200 ABs above AA and has struggled here mightily.

3. You gave a quote with no context, and since we’re supposedly adults here, we should agree actions speak louder than words. So again, tell me how many games Reyes played in the OF. Before answering remember the Mets said they wanted him to play there some this year.

4. If Kernan says the mentoring isn’t really happening, and we see NO EVIDENCE of any mentoring, how can you say it’s happening? Because you generated quotes without citing them?

5. Please stop embarrassing yourself with this nonsense to defend Reyes and the team’s use of him.

McNeil was the Opening Day 3B this year, and he’s worked there all year. That’s including the over 100 games he’s played at the position.

Frazier had a ribcage injury which kept him out past the deadline. Given the nature of the injury, there was no justifiable reason to play Reyes over McNeil.

Guillorme has been better than Reyes this year, and that includes his being accountable for his mistakes.

So, if you’re going to assert Guillorme has played like a Double-A player, I’d hate to see what you’d HONESTLY say about Reyes.

Furthermore, I’ll note Reyes’ presence and whining to the press helped take away the at-bats Guillorme should have received earlier in the year.